Bellino Stables, DRF Harness, Hambletonian Society, Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment, Northfield Park, Tioga Downs, and Vernon Downs, Buffalo Raceway announcer Michael Carter has taken an early lead with 319.70 points. Carter managed to surge to the lead due in a large part to his performance on Saturday afternoon where he had three winners, including Lady Suffolk second division winner, Northern Obsession which paid $46.20 to win. Carter would have gone four for four on Saturday if not for his selection in the Dexter Cup, Divisionist finishing second. Other performers of note were Bryan Owen and Gordon Waterstone who went three for four, alas without selecting Northern Obsession. The current standings after four legs are:
| Standings as of Sunday, May 3 - Leg 4 | |||||
| Total Points | Points Earned | Overall | Position | ||
| Pos | Handicapper | Prior Week | This Week | Total Points | Last Week |
| 1st | Michael Carter | 11.60 | 308.10 | 319.70 | 13th (tie) |
| 2nd | Gordon Waterstone | 43.50 | 105.20 | 148.70 | 2nd |
| 3rd | Bryan Owen | 39.70 | 107.30 | 147.00 | 5th |
| 4th | Sally Hinckley | 48.20 | 47.70 | 95.90 | 1st |
| 5th | Derick Giwner | 33.90 | 58.20 | 92.10 | 8th |
| 6th | Brandon Valvo | 40.90 | 51.00 | 91.90 | 4th |
| 7th | Earl Paulson | 43.20 | 34.90 | 78.10 | 3rd |
| 8th | Ann Stepien | 11.60 | 65.70 | 77.30 | 13th (tie) |
| 9th | Mark Dezii | 37.00 | 34.60 | 71.60 | 6th |
| 10th | Josi Verlingieri | 33.40 | 31.70 | 65.10 | 9th |
| 11th | Dennis O'Hara | 18.10 | 45.20 | 63.30 | 11th |
| 12th | Jay Hochstetler | 4.20 | 58.60 | 62.80 | 18th |
| 13th | Rusty Nash | 35.70 | 21.20 | 56.90 | 7th |
| 14th | Garnet Barnsdale | 8.00 | 46.90 | 54.90 | 15th (tie) |
| 15th | Mark McKelvie | 5.90 | 46.90 | 52.80 | 17th |
| 16th | Mark Deutsch | 11.90 | 38.60 | 50.50 | 12th |
| 17th | Ray Garnett | 31.80 | 18.10 | 49.90 | 10th |
| 18th | Ray Cotolo | 8.00 | 40.20 | 48.20 | 15th (tie) |
| 19th | Bob Zanakis | 0.00 | 37.20 | 37.20 | 19th |
Three new handicappers join the fray, two replacing handicappers forced to scratch due to circumstances beyond their control, while one handicapper is a new addition. Coming off the also eligible list is Bob Zanakis who is a handicapper familiar to followers of this series and Jay Hochstetler, an intern at the Horsemen and Fair World and an assistant trainer. Added to the roster is Mark Deutsch, a former owner and trainer who now enjoys handicapping harness racing primarily on the WEG circuit. As substitutes, Hochstetler takes over representing Rainhill Sanctuary, while Zanakis assumes representing Helping Hearts Equine Rescue. Mark Deutsch chose New Vocations as his rescue of choice.
Two new sponsors have joined the contest. HANA welcomes Red Shores Charlottetown as a Silver sponsor while an Anonymous donor has signed on as a double Bronze sponsor. Thanks to these additions, the contest handicappers are playing for a HANA Harness-record $5,700 in prize money to be distributed to the top three handicapper's selected standardbred rescues and Canadian rescues selected by the Canadian sponsors.
This coming week, there are no events but the Handicapping Challenge returns the following week for events Saturday-Monday (5/16-5/18). For details on the specific races and other information regarding the contest, visit http://hanaharnesscontest.blogspot.com.
